Prehistoric Mutant Ninja Turtles

Prehistoric Mutant Ninja Turtles!

This is an ode to prehistoric turtles, interpreted as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, for ART Evolved's Turtle Gallery!  I really love the challenge of creating something specifically for a topic every two months - it helps hone techniques.  In this case, I was able to work on my digital colouring skills.  The piece is inspired by this image from the recent computer animated movie.  I thought it would be fun to replace the regular Turtles with important prehistoric turtles from the past.  The first oldest turtle discovered, the first turtle with a shell, and early flippered turtles.  For Donatello, I had to choose my favorite, one of the largest and iconic turtle, Archelon.

Raphael

Proganochelys quenstedti - Late Triassic (210 myo)

Germany and Thailand - first full shell - 1m long

Michelangelo

Odontochelys semitestacea - Late Triassic (220 myo)

Guizhou, China - oldest turtle (incomplete shell) - 40cm long

Leonardo

Placochelys placodonta - Late Triassic (200 myo)

Germany - paddle-like limbs - 90cm long

Donatello

Archelon ischyros - Late Cretaceous (75-65 myo)

South Dakota and Wyoming, USA - HUGE - >4m long!

Hope you like it!  Cowabunga, dude!  Pizza Party Time!!!

ART Evolved's Turtle Gallery is up!

Hi everyone,
Check out the new gallery on ART Evolved!  Turtles!  Cowabunga!
I've got a couple of new pieces in there, which I will put up here this week.
-Peter

Meganeura Painting Final

Giants Stalking Giants - 2011

Acrylics on canvas paper - blurring in gimp

The giant dragonfly Meganeura monyi sits blissfully unaware on a branch, as the giant scorpion Pulmonoscorpius kirktonensis creeps ever so slowly towards it's victim.  Fossils show the scorpion to be 70cm (2.3ft) long, and the dragonfly's wingspan surpassed 75cm (2.5ft)!  The Carboniferous provided these prehistoric insects and arachnids with an atmosphere of increased oxygen levels, which many scientists believe led to the increased size of these critters.  

Wouldn't mind one of these beauts as a pet...

Posted in ART Evolved's Carboniferous Gallery here.

Carboniferous Art - Work in Progress

Carboniferous WIP

Meganeura monyi and Pulmonoscorpius kirktonensis

This WIP is being made for ART Evolved's Carboniferous Gallery which goes online July 1st.  Be sure to send in your art to artevolved@gmail.com.

I'll post the finished piece with more info on the amazing arthropods at the end of the month.

Also sent around twitter as my #10oclockart.

One More Win...

Bring the Cup Home Boys!

Go Canucks Go!

Archeopteryx Painting

 

Quick pencil sketch for composition.

Archeopteryx Pair 

2011, acrylic on canvas paper, 9 x 12 in.

This painting was created as a gift for my friends Craig and Rhonwyn's wedding!  With this year being the 150th anniversary of Archeopterxy's discovery, this early birds were the perfect subject.  I have recently been experimenting with a more impressionist style using a more limited colour pallet.  While I am really happy with the painting, I have still managed to use the primary colours - red, blue, yellow.    Hmm, anyone have any suggestions on how to limit my pallet more effectively? 

Parasaurolophus in Love

Parasaurolophus in Love ©2011 

Medium: Acrylic Paints

Now that the Hadrosaur Gallery has gone up on ART Evolved, I can reveill the complete parasaurolophus piece!  Be sure to visit the gallery for a metric ton of gorgeous duckbill art!

The point of this reconstruction was to keep my colour pallet to only one to two colours.  As the emotion of this piece is love, I went with the traditional red tones for the critters.  One of the biggest  challenges I have in painting is that I tend to paint with bold, almost primary colours.  A prime example is my Pterosaur family in their garish blue, orange and yellow. 

I have recently bought James Gurney's book, Colour and Light, in an effort to teach myself better colour choice.  I look forward to pouring through it when I can find the time, and hopefully you will see an evolution in my art.

Thanks for checking this piece out and if you have any critiques, please let me know in the comments section below.

Sneak Peak into a new Painting

I must apologize really for being absent from my own blog for so long.  Life, as they say, gets in the way.  Between work and tutoring, getting back into Basil for a one-night-only Fawlty Towers performance, and preproduction of Cinderella (which I'll be directing), I haven't found a lot of time for art.

So with ART Evolved's Hadrosaur Gallery opening only days away, I wanted to give a sneak peak of a new painting I've been working on for the Time Capsule. 

Detail of Parasaurolophus painting

If you can't tell what this is, it is meant to be a very red Parasaurolophus.  I will post the full painting here at the end of the month to coincide with the gallery.

Happy Easter everyone!

Darwin Day 2011

Happy Darwin Day everyone!

Travel Photo of the Week #4

The Needle in Dublin, Ireland in 2002

Travel Photo of the Week #3

Eiffel Tower, Paris 1999

I love this photo, captured on a warm evening in Paris lit up like a beacon in the night.

Travel Photo of the Week #2

Sagrada Familia Basilica, Barcelona, Spain (2007)

An amazing church designed by Antoni Gaudi, started in 1882 and probably never to be completed.  The Sagrada Familia is an amazing amalgamation of architectural designs and is a must-see when visiting Barcelona.  I love the city and I love Gaudi's surreal Gothic style!  For more of his work, see Casa Mila and Park Güell.

Woolly Mammoth - Final Image

Woolly Mammoth 
(click to enlarge)

This final image was created by pencil drawing, digital colouring, and photoshopping onto photograph background (image by Craig Dylke).  You can follow the making-of by clicking here.

The impetus for creating this beasty was ART Evolved's Elephant Gallery, up now.  Go check out all the other pachyderms by talented artists!  Go!

Travel Photo of the Week #1

Into the Future: Disneyland's Tomorrowland (1996)

Starting of with something weird and artsy and old.  Blurred light effects, motion, colour...

Ushering in 2011

Last night, the world clock ticked over from 2010 to 2011, and with it, the infinite possibilities of a new year ahead!  Time to seize those possibilites...

To begin with, it must be noted that I have been posting less and less here (only 40 posts last year!)  I don't feel the desire to write about my personal life, nor have I done much traveling recently.   Somewhere in 2010, I made a conscious decision to transform "Bond's Blog" into a space to showcase art and give a peek into creation.  I never fully completed that transition.

So my plans for 2011 include creating the formal art communication space here.  More shared art, more artistic updates, and artsy travel photograph-of-the-week type posts to start.  Organization and planning is key!  I am also committing myself right now to the creation and completion of some sort of kids book - something I have been dancing around for the last few years.  It's time to do something about it.

2010 also saw the continued evolution of ART Evolved as a more significant force in the paleo-art-isphere.  The continuation of the every-two-month galleries and an increase in article content, along with the highly successful Pink Dinosaur cancer campaign, has given me huge satisfaction.  I also plan on spending more energy in 2011 so ART Evolved can grow even bigger!

Thanks to all my friends and followers for a great 2010.  Here's to a fantastic 2011!

-Peter

(and a big welcome to the world to Calvin Mellow!)

Liveblogging Dec 2010 (Mammoth-Style!)

For those not familiar with the term "liveblogging," it's an event where the artist uploads images of a work-in-progress (WIP) live, as they work on it.

Over at ART Evolved, the next gallery features Elephants and relatives, so I'll be liveblogging my effort in creating a restoration of a woolly mammoth today and in the next few days.  I foresee a pen and ink sketch with digital colouring.

I will be attempting to add updates to this post in an effort to maintain containment.

Post 1- Dec 20th 2:05pm PST

Preliminary pencil sketch.

Post 2 - 3:02pm PST

Pen and ink pointillism begins.  Scanner scans only half of him = annoying.  

I promise the full guy next hour!

Post 3 - 4:45pm PST

And here the scanner cut off part of his right tusk, but at least captured his lovely legs!  The pen and ink stage continues, finding doing fur/hair with pointillism slightly challenging...

Enough for today! 

Post 4 - Dec 21 10:16am PST

Good morning!  Here is the final pen and ink version that I have scanned.  Now to import it into GIMP (my free Photoshop substitute) and begin the digital colouring.  Once the animal is coloured, the big question is should I attempt to recreated a background?  Or should I simply place the critter into a photograph of the appropriate habitat?  Thoughts?

Post 5 - 11:56am PST

Well, an hour later and all I've got done is import the mammoth into GIMP and isolate him into layers.  Not a lot to look at, but vital as I begin colouring!

For everyone's interest, here is the reference photo I used for this restoration.  Royal Tyrrell Museum's wonderful woolly mammoth mount:

(Young me for scale.)

Post 6 - 1:02pm PST

Time for lunch!  Here we have the first stage of base colour and shading done in GIMP with multiple layers.  This particular pachyderm will sport a black and dark brown fur coat.  No decision on the background as of yet... 

Post 7 - 2:39pm PST

More layers of colour and texture...  

We'll have to leave it there for today.  Will try to pick it up tomorrow!

Here is the final composition.  Big thanks to Craig Dylke for the background photo.

The final mammoth...

To Catch an Art Thief

Yesterday, ART Evolved banned together around one of our members, Dr. Manabu Sakamoto, to catch an art thief.  Please follow this link to read the whole story "The Art Thief vs. The Dinosaur Bloggers," masterly written and posted on ART Evolved by Glendon Mellow.

Here is a sample from the post:

Theft is going to get found out.

All of us on Art Evolved experienced a point in time where we made a decision to go online with our artwork.  It's a tough decision, and everyone frets to varying degrees about what will happen if our work is stolen.

• We slap copyright symbols on it, and some of us put obscuring watermarks on the images.
• We employ Creative Commons Licences, or rail against Google ImageSearch for making it so easy.  
• We vary on how much we protect our artwork, and how much we like to share it.  
• None of us is likely to know if an indie punk band in Vienna has downloaded our Diabloceratops for their gig posters.  

So if you're an aspiring artist looking to get into paleo-art or any kind of image, and you're nervous about making a big enough name for yourself online, here's some stuff you can do.

• Don't steal. 
• If it's a fan homage, say it is.  
• Don't re-post someone's stuff without asking.  
• If they have a blanket statement saying it's okay, make sure you link back to them and give them credit.   
• Always give artists, illustrators and image-makers credit. Always.
• Just ask.  Always ask if it's cool.  Most illustrators love feedback.
• Use the © symbol a lot. State what you want. 
• Blog.  Post comments elsewhere.  Reciprocate.
• Become friends and peers to others with similar interests. 
• If you can, be part of a network or group online. 
• "I got yer back" is one of the most heart-warming statements you can utter to a friend. 

If someone steals your work, 

• make a fuss. 
• Go through proper channels. 
• Be civil and intelligent when you dialogue. 
• Ask for help from your support network.  

I encourage anyone to put their artwork online.  And becoming part of a network makes everyone stronger than without it.

 Read the full post here.

I totally agree with Glendon when he says that becoming part of an online community is the best way to protect your art online.  Strength in numbers, we've got your back!

-Peter

October is Pink Dinosaur Month

Sorry for the recent absence folks, but I've been having too much fun with the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser event that ART Evolved is currently running! 

What is Pink Dinosaurs, you might ask?  Go here to read an overview about what the event is.  Send in a drawing of your pink dinosaur to artevolved@gmail.com and I'll post it on ART Evolved!  Send in as many as you like!  Each pic I post, AE will be donating $1 to the Canadian Cancer Society.  If you don't feel you have the necessary mad skills to scribble a pink highlighter on the back of today's newspaper and email me a pic, then you can also go directly to the event site and donate there!

The response so far to Pink Dinosaurs is simply amazing.  It has been promoted all around the paleoblogsphere (most notably here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here) and we already have 25 posted pink dinosaurs.  If we get more than 50, then my initial predictions will have been surpassed!  The submission rate has increased now that it is October, and I am loving seeing all the amazing artwork!  Paleo-art for a difference!

The event officially ends at the end of October, but if people keep on sending in pink dinosaurs, I'll post them through November and December!

With Fawlty Towers rehearsals in full swing and Zorro stage design due, my time is busy with acting and tutoring and teaching.  I will need to sit down and create my own pink dinosaur to add to the growing group of spectacular art!

Pop-Cutlure Gallery Submissions

Ghostbuster vs Zombie Dinosaur (2010)

Godzilla Contemplates Vancouver (2010)

Burning Man Bound

(image link)

I will be away for the computer for the next two weeks, with the plan to head down to Burning Man for the first time!  If you don't know what Burning Man is, check this out.  Unfortunately, I'm typing this as I am actually heading out the door (for the drive from BC to Nevada).

Preparation, planning, packing, and now off.  See you in a bit, with stories, photos, and sunburn!